Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Add Malevy Leons On Two-Way Deal, Waive Alex Toohey

December 8th, 2025 at 3:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

3:18 pm: The moves are official, according to the Warriors, who confirmed in a press release (Twitter link) that Leons has taken Toohey’s two-way spot.

2:29 pm: The Warriors are adding 6’9″ wing Malevy Leons on a two-way contract and waiving Alex Toohey, reports Anthony Slater of ESPN (via Twitter).

Toohey requires knee surgery and will miss the rest of the season, according to Slater.

Leons is averaging 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds for the G League’s OKC Blue, the Thunder’s affiliate.

After going undrafted out of Bradley in 2024, Leons signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Thunder last September and was waived before the 2024/25 season began. However, he was re-signed on a standard contract and spent two-plus weeks with the Thunder last fall before being cut in mid-November. He made six cameo regular season appearances for Oklahoma City during his brief stint with the team.

Leons spent the rest of the 2024/25 season with the Blue, appearing in 47 G League games. He was on Oklahoma City’s training camp roster this year via an Exhibit 10 contract but was waived prior to opening night and rejoined the Blue.

Toohey, a 6’7″ forward out of Australia, played two years with the Sydney Kings prior to coming over to the NBA this year. Last season, he averaged 10.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 23.0 minutes per game.

Toohey was drafted in the second round in June and signed to a two-way in late September. He has yet to appear in an NBA game.

Magic’s Franz Wagner Has High Ankle Sprain

December 8th, 2025 at 2:45pm CST by Rory Maher

December 8: Wagner has a high left ankle sprain, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. According to Charania, an MRI conducted on Monday showed no structural damage on his left leg, and the Magic forward is expected to be out two-to-four weeks.

December 7: Star forward Franz Wagner appeared to suffer a significant injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s matinee game in New York, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

According to the Magic (Twitter link), Wagner has a lower left leg injury and will miss the remainder of Sunday’s contest. He will be reevaluated when the team returns to Orlando.

The injury occurred on a fast break (YouTube link). After poking the ball away from Jalen Brunson, Wagner was the first player down the court and positioned himself near the basket. Teammate Anthony Black threw up an alley-oop attempt for Wagner, but Knicks big man Ariel Hukporti swatted the pass away, fouling Wagner in the process. Wagner fell awkwardly and immediately grabbed his left knee in pain.

Hukporti, a fellow German, clearly felt badly about Wagner’s injury and checked in with him. After staying down on the floor for an extended period, Wagner was helped off the court by older brother Moritz Wagner and rookie Noah Penda. He was unable to put weight on his left leg.

It’s a potentially devastating development for the Magic, who just got Paolo Banchero back from a groin strain on Friday. Wagner was off to a terrific start to the season, averaging 23.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals on .487/.354/.823 shooting through 23 games (34.5 minutes per contest).

Wagner, who has been wearing a face mask after breaking his nose in November, was nominated for the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month award for October/November.

Jonathan Kuminga Trade Speculation Grows After Sunday’s DNP

December 8th, 2025 at 7:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Jonathan Kuminga has dropped out of the Warriors‘ rotation again, and sources tell Anthony Slater of ESPN that the team plans to explore trade offers in the upcoming weeks.

Kuminga didn’t get off the bench in Sunday night’s win at Chicago, even though Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Al Horford were all unavailable. That came one night after Kuminga shot 1-of-10 in 22 minutes at Cleveland, with coach Steve Kerr choosing to play Gui Santos ahead of him in the fourth quarter of a tight game. Green was seen talking to Kuminga late in that contest in an effort to calm him down, Slater adds.

“Happens to everybody pretty much, other than the stars,” Kerr responded when asked about not playing Kuminga. “Guys come in and out of the rotation, depending on who’s available, how the team is playing.”

Kuminga’s five seasons with Golden State have featured an ongoing drama about his playing time and his fit with the team. He’s coming off a summer-long contract battle as a restricted free agent where he didn’t receive an offer sheet from a rival team and the Warriors quickly abandoned any intentions for a sign-and-trade deal.

The standoff extended into the start of training camp before Kuminga accepted a two-year, $46.8MM contract with a team option for the second season. Kuminga and his agent spoke out against the team option during negotiations, but sources tell Slater that Kuminga felt forced into accepting the offer. They also say the months of talks “generated bitter feelings on both sides.”

Kuminga appeared to have moved past the contract distractions as he opened the season as the team’s starting power forward and helped the Warriors win four of their first five games. Kerr declared him to be an entrenched starter, but things changed quickly. The team stopped winning, and Kuminga was removed from the starting lineup after 13 games. Knee tendinitis forced him to miss the next seven games, and he hasn’t shot well since returning, going just 12-of-40 from the field.

Kuminga said he talked to Kerr before Sunday’s game and was told the team is moving in a different direction.

“I’m not really sure (how long it lasts),” Kuminga said. “But as long as things are working out there and we winning, I don’t see the point of switching anything, changing. Whenever my number get called, I’ll be ready.”

Because of the circumstances of his contract, Kuminga is among a small group of players who aren’t eligible to be traded until January 15. Kuminga fits into that group because he re-signed with his previous team, he got a raise exceeding 20%, his salary is worth more than the minimum, and his team was over the cap, using Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.

League sources tell Slater that the probability of Kuminga being moved before the February 5 trade deadline is strong. The Suns and Kings expressed interest in sign-and-trade deals over the summer, but both teams’ circumstances have changed since then.

Slater notes that Kuminga’s situation is unlikely to improve before the deadline. After picking up a pair of much-needed road wins over the weekend, Golden State will have four days off before hosting Minnesota on Friday. That will give Curry and Green time to recover from their injuries, leaving fewer opportunities for Kuminga.

“I don’t have any problems,” Kuminga said. “I’m going to work out every day, stay ready, because you never know how these things works. I believe in my game and feel good about my game. I just got to be a professional. Things happen. It’s happened before.”

Wembanyama, Castle Return To Spurs Practice

December 7th, 2025 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Star center Victor Wembanyama and 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle were full participants in the Spurs‘ practice on Sunday, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News, who reports that backup guard Jordan McLaughlin participated as well.

“It’s definitely amazing to see everyone back working,” guard Dylan Harper said. “We did well without those guys. Now when they come back, you’ll see a whole other team.”

Wembanyama has missed the past 10 games with a left calf strain he sustained on November 15. He is not expected to play in Monday’s game vs. New Orleans and is considered “iffy” for Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal at the Lakers, McDonald writes.

Castle, who has been out for the last nine games due to a left hip flexor strain, is likely to return to action tomorrow against the Pelicans, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN (Twitter link).

Veteran point guard McLaughlin will at least be out again Monday, says McDonald. He has been dealing with a right hamstring strain.

Obviously, the injury updates are welcome news for the Spurs, who will soon be getting two of their top players back. San Antonio is currently 15-7, the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.

Malik Beasley Reportedly In Advanced Talks With Partizan Belgrade

December 7th, 2025 at 11:10am CST by Rory Maher

Free agent swingman Malik Beasley is in advanced talks on a rest-of-season contract with Partizan Belgrade, reports Dusan Markovic of Nova.rs (hat tip to Sportando).

According to Markovic, the deal for Beasley would be worth around $2MM and would not contain an NBA opt-out clause.

Beasley appeared in all 82 regular season games for the Pistons in 2024/25 and was expected to cash in over the summer after averaging 16.3 points while shooting a career-best 41.3% from three-point range and finishing runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

However, word broke in June, just ahead of Beasley’s NBA free agency, that he was being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for possible illegal betting activity. The 29-year-old was reportedly in discussions with the Pistons at the time about a potential three-year, $42MM deal, but that fell apart as a result of the federal investigation.

Beasley wasn’t named in October’s indictments that resulted in the arrests of Heat guard Terry Rozier and Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups due to separate but related gambling cases. But Beasley reportedly hasn’t been cleared by federal investigators or by the NBA, which is conducting its own probe into the matter, so he remains in limbo for now.

Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews reported last month that teams in Europe and China were exhibiting “strong” interest in Beasley, but he remains unsigned for now. Detroit and Cleveland are among the NBA teams monitoring Beasley’s situation.

Partizan Belgrade, also known as KK Partizan, competes in both the ABA League and the EuroLeague. The Serbian team features several former NBA players, including Shake Milton and Jabari Parker, but has gotten off to a slow start in the EuroLeague, currently holding a 5-9 record.

Nets’ Cam Thomas Begins On-Court Work, But Remains Out

December 6th, 2025 at 2:27pm CST by Rory Maher

Nets guard Cam Thomas underwent an MRI earlier this week. The scan showed that his left hamstring strain is healing and he has begun on-court work, but he remains out. His status will be updated in about two weeks, the team announced today (via Twitter).

Thomas sustained the hamstring strain on November 5 against Indiana. He has missed the past 14 games with the injury and is expected to miss at least four more, with Dec. 21 vs. Toronto likely being his earliest possible return date.

The 24-year-old shooting guard has strained his left hamstring four different times in the past two seasons. Thomas only appeared in 25 games during the 2024/25 campaign due to the same issue.

The 27th overall pick of the 2021 draft, Thomas has been a polarizing player during four years with the Nets. While he’s a talented scorer, he doesn’t contribute in many other areas. In seven healthy games this season, Thomas averaged 24.4 points, 2.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 31.6 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .408/.356/.875.

Brooklyn went 1-7 in games Thomas played this season and has gone 4-10 in his absence. The 5-17 Nets are currently tied for the fourth-worst record in the NBA.

Thomas will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026 after signing his one-year, $6MM qualifying offer last offseason. He has the right to veto trades in ’25/26.

Noa Essengue Out For Season With Shoulder Injury

December 6th, 2025 at 10:29am CST by Eli Cohen

Dec. 6: The Bulls have officially announced that Essengue will undergo season-ending surgery, Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic tweets.

Dec. 3: Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will require surgery to address a left shoulder injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).

The update comes from head coach Billy Donovan, who had previously noted that Essengue suffered the injury, which was initially diagnosed as a shoulder contusion, in a G League contest.

“Usually those things are six to seven months,” Donovan said of Essengue’s recovery timeline, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Bulls’ coach added that the team preferred to address the injury now rather than let it linger into the offseason.

After being selected 12th in the 2025 draft, Essengue played just six minutes for the Bulls in his rookie season, recording one steal and one foul in that time.

He appeared in four games for the Windy City Bulls G League team, where he averaged 23.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 30.8 minutes per game.

According to Johnson (via Twitter), Donovan said he had spoken with Essengue after shootaround, and that he was handling the news well.

Stein: Mavs Plan To Eventually Promote Ryan Nembhard

December 5th, 2025 at 11:10pm CST by Rory Maher

Within an interesting story about how Ryan Nembhard ended up on a two-way contract with the Mavericks after going undrafted in June, Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) reports that Dallas has “already committed” to promoting the rookie to a standard deal as soon as the team is able to do so.

As we outlined on Thursday, Nembhard has been making a strong case to have his two-way deal converted to a standard contract since he took over as the Mavericks’ starting point guard five games ago. However, with only about $1.29MM in breathing room below their second-apron hard cap, the Mavs are ineligible to add a prorated minimum-salary contract to their roster until January 6.

Promoting Nembhard as soon as they can next month would put the Mavericks in a difficult financial position, as they would be just $12K away from their hard cap. Dallas was in a similar situation last season and was unable to add reinforcements when the roster was decimated by injuries during the second half.

As Stein writes, it’s possible that a minimum-salary deal wouldn’t be enough to entice Nembhard either, especially if he keeps up his recent play. So the Mavericks might have to offer more than the minimum during the season if they want to prevent him from reaching restricted free agency in 2026.

Nembhard can still be active for 33 more games as part of his two-way contract, and there isn’t necessarily a rush for the Mavs to convert him, even if they intend to do so down the line.

According to Stein, while the former Gonzaga standout worked out for 29 of the NBA’s 30 teams prior to the draft, the Mavericks were the only club to consistently express a desire to acquire him.

Sources tell Stein that Matt Riccardi, who was then an assistant general manager and has since been elevated to co-interim GM, repeatedly told Nembhard’s agents the team hoped to trade for a second-round pick to draft the 22-year-old, but if it was unable to do so and no other team selected him, the Mavericks would “definitely” offer him a two-way contact.

On the day of the second round, the Mavs’ front office was unable to land a second-rounder. Teams selecting in the 50s expressed some interest drafting Nembhard, Stein continues, but his agents rejected those overtures because going undrafted would make him an unrestricted free agent and thus able to sign the two-way deal with Dallas.

“I don’t think about it much anymore,” Nembhard told Stein about not being selected. “My focus is on today because that’s all that matters. But deep down I think I have a natural fire to compete. And it’s hotter than maybe it would have been otherwise because no one believed in me.”

Nembhard isn’t the only rookie on a two-way deal with Dallas who has made a good impression this season. Prior to Friday’s game, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News asked head coach Jason Kidd about big man Moussa Cisse, who has played an unexpected role off the bench amid several frontcourt injuries (Twitter link).

“Our two-ways have done great…Moussa and the energy that he’s brought, he’s helped win some games for us early,” Kidd said. “Our two-ways have had a big impact and at some point here in January, they could run out of games. That’s just the unfortunate thing, but we’ve needed them because of injuries and they’ve responded with the opportunities they’ve been given.”

Paolo Banchero Cleared To Return For Magic

December 5th, 2025 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been upgraded to available for Friday’s game vs. Miami, the team announced today (via Twitter). It will be the first time Banchero has played since November 12.

Banchero, who has missed Orlando’s past 10 games due to a left groin strain, was initially listed on Thursday as questionable for Friday’s matchup between division rivals.

In 11 healthy games this season before he was injured in his 12th outing, Banchero averaged 23.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 34.7 minutes per contest. His shooting line was a modest .466/.250/.761, and the Magic have been a little better with him off the court (+5.1 net rating) than on it (+2.6) so far this fall. However, the team – which has gone 12-5 after a 1-4 start – isn’t worried about reincorporating the 2024 All-Star.

“He’s a very smart basketball player,” teammate Jalen Suggs said of Banchero last week. “… He’ll come back into the fold and jell well with us because that’s our brother. Regardless of how we’ve been playing while he’s been off, we want him on the court. And we’re better when he’s on the court.”

While the Magic will be getting back one of their top offensive weapons for Friday’s game, the Heat will likely be without one of their leading scorers. Guard Tyler Herro is listed as doubtful due to right big toe irritation and will undergo an MRI on the injury on Saturday, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

The good news for Miami is that Norman Powell (left ankle sprain) has been upgraded to available after sitting out Wednesday’s loss to Dallas. Powell has led the Heat with 25.0 points per game through his first 17 appearances.

Mavs’ Dereck Lively Seeking Multiple Opinions For Foot Injury

December 4th, 2025 at 3:51pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks center Dereck Lively II is seeking multiple opinions on the next steps to take to treat his injured right foot, according to the team (Twitter link).

Lively was spotted in a walking boot during Wednesday’s shootaround, tweets Christian Clark of The Athletic.

The 12th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Lively last played on November 21 against New Orleans. He has been sidelined with swelling and discomfort in his right foot — the same foot which was surgically repaired over the summer.

Marc Stein reported last week that Dallas was concerned Lively could miss an extended period of time, with the team subsequently stating he would be out at least seven-to-10 days — this is the first update on his status since then.

Lively appeared in the first three games of the season before missing the next nine due to a right knee sprain. The third-year center suited up for four of Dallas’ next six contests, sitting twice during back-to-back sets, before the foot became an issue again.

Even when Lively has been available this season, he has been on a minutes limit. In seven outings (four starts), the 21-year-old has averaged 4.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 16.4 minutes per night.

The right foot is the same one that Lively injured at the beginning of the year. He was diagnosed in January with a small fracture in his foot/ankle area, which sidelined him until April and limited him to 36 total games in 2024/25. He averaged 8.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.6 BPG in 23.1 MPG in those 36 appearances.